New Zealand's New Prime Minister Left The Mormon Faith Because Of Its Anti-LGBT Stance

Instinct Staff | October 19, 2017

Photo: Labour.Org.NZ

Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand's new Prime Minister, is the youngest woman in history to be elected to the position.

A long-time member of the Labour party, she has promised to be a voice for progressive change in the country.

Upon her election, she announced:

"This is an exciting day. We aspire to be a government for all New Zealanders and one that will seize the opportunity to build a fairer, better New Zealand.

"We will work hard to ensure New Zealand is once again a world leader, a country we can all be proud of. We said we could do this, we will do this."

Before she'd become that voice for change however, Ardern made the choice to leave the conservative Mormon faith.

Early this year, she told the New Zealand Herald about leaving the religion she was brought up in.

When feeling forced to choose between her faith and supporting the rights of her gay friends, Arden chose her friends.

"For a lot of years, I put it to the back of my mind. I think it was too unsettling. If something like religion is part of your foundation, and then suddenly you start questioning that – it’s quite a confronting thing to deal with."

"Even before the Civil Union Bill came up, I lived in a flat with three gay friends and I was still going to church every so often and I just remember thinking 'this is really inconsistent – I’m either doing a disservice to the church or my friends.' Because how could I subscribe to a religion that just didn’t account for them?"